Home and Away: Happy Fall Y'all!

And so begins my favorite time of the year! Halloween, Thanksgiving, pre-Christmas excitement, and both of my girls' birthdays make this season the one I look forward to the most.

Mid October, we took a trip to Michigan. Andrew was invited to be distinguished alumni at Grand Valley, so we made it a long weekend opportunity for Finley to meet her extended Michigan family.
Michigan is very pretty this time of year. The trees are various tones of red and orange and the temperature is still quite mild.

Instead of a stroller, I took the Baby Bjorn. Bad idea.

I will never travel through airports sans stroller again.

Finley got to wear her new hat!

Finley didn't want to wear her new hat.

Pretty woods

Finn wanted to swim down the stairs like cousin Vivi.

she wanted to do it again, and again, and again...

Max, the adorable big dog

Lots of frogs

Mary, Finley, Benjamin and Vivienne

Catching Ladybugs by Lake Michigan

Waiting in the airport for our delayed flight. Afraid we would miss our connection, Andrew took the girls and made the next flight while I waited for our gate-checked bags. I was too late to the gate and missed the flight to Midland, meaning an overnight stay in Dallas for me. Boo.

Facetime with Finn

Later that month, we took a trip to Big Bend and stayed at Terlingua Ranch. We own land on Terlingua Ranch, so we only paid half price to rent a cabin at the ranch headquarters - a bargain at $50 a night!

Terlingua Ranch is a great place to stay if you plan to spend some time in this area. The cabins are very clean, there is a pool, and every week you can listen to live music in the one and only restaurant. The restaurant (The Bad Rabbit Cafe) doesn't look like much but the food and value for money is superb!

From the Ranch Headquarters, you can ask for the keys to the gate so that you can drive up Christmas Mountains. If the keys are already checked out, you will need to wait as the road is single lane all the way up.

You will also need a 4x4 vehicle (although we didn't use it) with good clearance.

Gorgeous views!

A good view of Pinks Peak

The Mare

The Terlingua Ranch Pool

Walking back from the pool to our cabin.

Pretty-in-pink sunrise views in the early hours

Ahh, the things you can do when you are without an HOA.

Peek-a-boo!

The EAA held a Young Eagle event and it was a huge success! Lots of kids and families enjoyed lots of food, crafts and free flights.

The new sign. No duct tape required.

Mary started volunteering at H3, Horses, Hearts and Hands. She enjoys prepping and grooming the horses and, on Saturdays, she gets to ride afterwards.

Mary turned 12!! She opened gifts and invited a few friends over for a sleepover that weekend.

We took all girls to the drive in movies. Finley got to enjoy the movie from the trunk.

Finley Rose turned One while we were in Austin!!

She decided it was as good a time as any to start walking!

Birthday party at the sitter's house!

"What you got on your head?"

We took a trip out to Fiddlesticks Farms, where I tried to get some good fall photos of my girls. We own two pretty good cameras, but of course I didn't bring either so all I had was my phone.